Last night, more than 40 examples of excellence stood out among their peers as the Tourism Accommodation Australia awards recognised the state’s greatest achievers in a glittering ceremony at The Star, Sydney.
Between winners and those highly commended for their efforts, the night served to demonstrate the exceptionally high benchmark and the wide variety of talent that exists in the NSW hotel and hospitality industry. In all, winners in 34 categories were named, having been selected from 320 nominations submitted by 82 different hotels.
Major winners on the night included the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, which took home Metropolitan Deluxe Hotel of the Year. Its Regional Deluxe counterpart accolade went to Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley.
The host venue, The Star, was also recognised for outstanding achievement in a number of categories, adding to its trophy case with three wins – Revenue/Yield Talent of the Year, Human Resources Talent of the Year and Restaurant of the Year (Deluxe Hotels) with a further High Commendation for Rooms Division Talent of the Year.
A major highlight came for Fraser Suites Sydney, inducted into the TAA Hall of Fame as reward for winning Apartment/Suite of the Year for three consecutive years.
“NSW really does set the standard when it comes to the quality of our accommodation venues and their hard-working staff,” said TAA Chairman Peter Tudehope.
“Each year at the Awards for Excellence we honour the best in the business for their tireless efforts throughout the year in providing a great experience for visitors to this state. I congratulate all the winners on a job well done.”
Here is the full list of TAA Awards winners for 2018.
PEOPLE AWARDS
Best Innovation Project
WINNER – Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley
Outstanding Achievement in Training
WINNER – Holiday Inn Potts Point Sydney
Outstanding Community Contribution
WINNER – Atura Blacktown
HIGHLY COMMENDED – The Westin Sydney
Best Environmental Practices
WINNER – Loxley on Bellbird Hill
Workplace Health and Safety Hotel of the Year
WINNER – Holiday Inn Darling Harbour
Conference and Events Venue of the Year
WINNER – Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Hyatt Regency
Engineer of the Year
WINNER – Craig Cavers, Hilton Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Andrea Gamberoni, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
Finance Talent of the Year
WINNER – Helen Ip, Holiday Inn Sydney Airport
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Navneet Chand, Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley
IT Talent of the Year
WINNER – Howard Phung, Fraser Suites Sydney
Revenue/Yield Talent of the Year
WINNER – Kate Watt, The Star Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Meagan Sor, Sheraton on the Park
Food and Beverage Talent of the Year
WINNER – Jeremy Metzroth, Ovolo Woolloomooloo
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Gaurang Gahoi, Mercure Sydney
Conference and Events Talent of the Year
WINNER – Mary Dolmas, Hyatt Regency Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Melanie Dawkins, Novotel Sydney Olympic Park
Marketing Talent of the Year
WINNER – Melinda McCrone, Crowne Plaza Terrigal Pacific
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Merren Lynch, Ovolo Hotels
Sales Talent of the Year
WINNER – Lachlan Harris, The Langham, Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Esra Kaya, InterContinental Sydney Double Bay
Human Resources Talent of the Year
WINNER – Judith Mackenzie, The Star Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Nicole Salonga, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
Rooms Division Talent of the Year
WINNER – Leigh Salas, Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains, MGallery by Sofitel
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Daniel Worsley, The Star Sydney
Employee Excellence in Service
WINNER – Max Monning, Sheraton on the Park
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Arpith Hegde, InterContinental Sydney
Concierge of the Year
WINNER – Jonathan Fambart, Park Hyatt Sydney
Housekeeper of the Year
WINNER – Gerri Harrison, Rydges Newcastle
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Suzana Nedic, Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport
Chef of the Year
WINNER – Nancy Kinchela, Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Stephen Lech, InterContinental Sydney
Hotel Industry Rising Star
WINNER – Amelia Benjamin, Hilton Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Chelsea Logan, InterContinental Sydney Double Bay
PROPERTY AWARDS
Restaurant of the Year (Mid-Range – Superior Hotels)
WINNER – Abode Bistro and Bar, PARKROYAL Darling Harbour
Restaurant of the Year (Deluxe Hotels)
WINNER – Black Bar and Grill, The Star Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Darley’s, Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa
Brasserie/Café of the Year
WINNER – Silvester’s, Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel
Bar of the Year (Mid-Range – Superior Hotels)
WINNER – Eve’s, Mercure Sydney
Bar of the Year (Deluxe Hotels)
WINNER – Champagne Bar, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
Health Club and Spa Facilities of the Year
WINNER – The Spa, Chateau Elan Hunter Valley
HIGHLY COMMENDED – One&Only Spa, Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley
Redeveloped/Refurbished Hotel of the Year
WINNER – Sheraton on the Park
Apartment/Suite Hotel of the Year
WINNER – Meriton Suites North Sydney
Mid-Range Hotel of the Year
WINNER – Mercure Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED – Tank Stream Hotel Sydney
Metropolitan Superior Hotel of the Year
WINNER – Novotel Sydney Darling Square
Regional Superior Hotel of the Year
WINNER – The Convent Hunter Valley
Metropolitan Deluxe Hotel of the Year
WINNER – Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
HIGHLY COMMENDED – The Langham, Sydney
Regional Deluxe Hotel of the Year
WINNER – Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley
HALL OF FAME
Engineer of the Year
WINNER – Anura Yapa, Shangri-La Hotel
Apartment/Suite Hotel of the Year
WINNER – Fraser Suites Sydney